Friends On The Other Side
by LillyAtHeART
Summary: Hi. I’m Jaelyn, and I live in New Orleans. When I picked up Dr. Facilier’s hat and became the next shadow person, I had no clue what I was getting into. I’m writing down what happened so that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
1. The Message

Hi. I'm Jaelyn, and I live in New Orleans. When I picked up the hat, I had no clue what I was getting into, and I only realized that when I was in way over my head. I'm writing this so that you don't make the same mistakes I did.

It starts with the story of The Princess and the Frog, which has become a sort of tall tale in New Orleans by now. People said that Dr. Facilier's "friends on the other side" wanted another shadow man to get them souls. The shadows were said to write a message every year to someone they thought had potential, trying to get that person to work for them. Which seemed to me like one of the very untrue parts of the tale. That completely changed when I actually got the message.

I was returning home from the still family-run Tiana's Palace. As soon as I got into my apartment, I noticed that something felt wrong. When I opened my bedroom door, I saw the reason for that. It was as if the shadows of all the furniture had come together to spell out a message on my wall:

**_The hat awaits, still there, unused_**

**_We know you have the potential_**

**_To do better than Dr. Facilier_**

**_You can get anything you've ever wanted_**

**_If you join your friends on the other side_**.

_Well, those shadows aren't very poetic_, I thought in my shock. The legend was true, and, more importantly, _I _had the potential to be a voodoo person??!?!

I knew Dr. Facilier's hat was still where it had been left, by his grave. I knew his Voodoo Emporium hadn't been used, since everyone was too scared to go in. And the shadows thought _I _could run it?

Against all my better judgement, I left my apartment to go the graveyard.


	2. The Hat And Potential

It was evening by the time I entered the graveyard. I was pretty sure the shadows were watching me, but I couldn't see them. I was probably the first person to actually go to the graveyard after receiving the message, and I had only done it because the shadows were the first people - or things - that thought I had the potential for anything. It somehow didn't occur to me that doing this would endanger many lives, including mine. In that moment, I just wanted to see the hat.

It was obvious where Dr. Facilier's grave was. It was the only place that seemed as avoided as possible. And right next to it, there it was- the hat. This was the moment where I should've turned back, but something about the hat called me. I walked closer to it... Hey. It's really small. Dr. Facilier's head was really small. No way that'll fit me, I thought. But the pull of the hat didn't care about my logic. I found myself reaching for it... And I put on Dr. Facilier's hat.

It turned out that my logic was wrong. The hat had grown to fit my head perfectly. Knowledge of voodoo magic rushed into my head. The shadows came out of their hiding places, and the shadows of the graves spelled out a message on the floor:

**_Are you ready_**

**_To do better than Dr. Facilier?_**

**_Make the deal_**

**_You will give us souls_**

**_And we will give you whatever you want._**

_I stared at the words. You don't even know what you want. This is dangerous! Don't do it_, thought the better part of me. Take off the hat and pretend this never happened.

The words arranged into something else.

**_You know you want to..._**

**_And you have the potential._**

_I have the potential._ As I said before, no one had ever really thought I could do anything...

"I'll do it," I said before I could stop myself.

So Dr. Facilier's - no, Jaelyn's - Voodoo Emporium was open.

I definitely wasn't half as scary or weird looking as I should've been, but the shadows quickly changed that. Now my hair was black and very short, my clothes were similar to Dr. Facilier's, and, of course, I had the hat. With some practice, I totally mastered being scary and weird, which should've seemed, well, weird, but the shadows had said I had potential. So I guess they were right. Before I knew it, it was time to trick my first customer.


	3. The First Customer

There was a teenage girl sitting on the sidewalk, crying. The shadows had said - no, written - that teenagers were the easiest to trick. I didn't really need much money, but I did need practice for when I had to convince people to go to the Other Side. The shadows did need souls, after all.

I approached the girl on the sidewalk, and sat down next to her. Because of my new knowledge of magic, I could read her mind. Even so, I asked her, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"No," she replied, "Not at all. I found out that- that my ex-boyfriend cheated on me. I saw him kissing my best friend!" She started crying again.

"That's pretty messed up," I agreed. "Do you want to do anything about it?"

She nodded. "I'd like to be Caden's girlfriend. To make my ex jealous. But that's practically impossible!"

Caden was that one athletic guy who everyone knew, and he already had a girlfriend, a cheerleader named Terese.

But I had something he didn't: magic. "Alright, Luisa," I said, reading her mind to find her name, "I can help you with that."

She smiled, but then realized what was wrong. "H-how did you know my name?" Luisa asked, suddenly sounding frightened. "Because voodoo." I stood up abruptly. "And that's also how we're gonna get Caden to like you."

"Voodoo? Like- like Dr. Facilier?" Luisa hesitated. "I, uh... I think I'll stay here." She looked very scared. I had to convince her.

"Do you want revenge on your ex or do you want to sit here and cry?" I asked.

Luisa considered that, then said, "Yes, but- that would cost money, wouldn't it? I only have five dollars."

"That's fine." I took the money. "Let's go to the Emporium."

I had thought it would be much harder to get anyone to trust voodoo after Dr. Facilier happened.

As we walked up to the Voodoo Emporium, Luisa gasped. "I didn't think you'd actually be using Dr. Facilier's actual Emporium!"

"Well, I am," I said. The door opened of it's own accord, and we stepped inside.

"Is this the moment where you start singing and creeping me out a whole lot? I'd like to stay human, thank you," joked Luisa.

Yes, she was actually joking. I'd have thought she'd suspect me at least a little. "No. No singing. Because one, I'm not Dr. Facilier, and two, I can't sing." I looked at the shelves of skulls and potions. "This place looks pretty scary, doesn't it?" I asked. "I don't know how Dr. Facilier convinced anyone to give him anything. Anyway..." I looked at the shelves, reading the labels on potion bottles as Luisa watched. "Hair growing potion... Exploding potion... Fart potion... Hmmmm..." Luisa giggled. "Wait! That's it!" I exclaimed. "Fart potion! You can make Caden's girlfriend Terese fart! Then you can walk through the hall with this... uh... Beautifying potion and he'll break up with her and get with you!" Luisa thought about it. "Perfect!" She took the potions and left, giggling the whole time.

What she didn't know was that the labels were switched. Terese would be more beautiful, and Luisa would be farting. And anyway, I hadn't at all told her how to give Terese the potion.

When I turned around, I saw another message on one of the walls of the Emporium:

**_You did well_**

**_And proved your potential_**

**_Now keep going_**

**_And get us souls._**

_As poetic as ever_, I thought.

I was starting to get used to the messages.


End file.
